Foreign Ministry: military conflict in Niger could lead to destabilization of the entire region

A military settlement of the crisis in Niger, where President Mohamed Bazum was overthrown on July 26, could lead to a protracted confrontation and destabilize the entire region. With such a statement spoke at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“We believe that the military way of resolving the crisis in Niger can lead to a protracted confrontation in this African country, as well as to a sharp destabilization of the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region as a whole,” the message says.

The department supported the steps of ECOWAS (15 African countries are included) to restore order in Niger through diplomacy. “Russia supports the mediation efforts of ECOWAS aimed at finding ways out of the current crisis,” the Foreign Ministry noted.

On July 26, the Niger military announced the removal of President Bazum. The new leader of the country was the head of the presidential guard, Abdurakhman Tchiani, who became the leader of the rebellion. The UN, the US and the EU did not recognize the coup and demanded the release of the country’s democratically elected president. Bazum himself turned to the United States and the international community for support and assistance in restoring order in the country.

On July 31, ECOWAS issued a statement on the possible use of force if the rebels do not restore constitutional order in the country within a week and release the ousted president.

On August 8, after the completion of the organization’s ultimatum, the French media reported that African countries could send a contingent of 25,000 troops to invade Niger. On August 7, Acting US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland flew to Niger, where she held “extremely candid and at times quite difficult” meetings with representatives of the rebels. As the Associated Press wrote, during the negotiations, representatives of the junta said they were ready to kill the president in case of intervention.